AXIOS (Holly Otterbein) - Dem panel taps South Carolina to hold first 2028 presidential primary
South Carolina has been preliminarily tapped to hold the first Democratic presidential primary of 2028, as a key panel of party leaders picked the Palmetto State over Nevada on Friday after a contentious, racially fraught debate. Why it matters: It's a coup for Black leaders who argued the party's most loyal voters — represented by South Carolina's large Black population — deserved to have the first chance to weigh in on who should be Democrats' next presidential nominee. - The vote by the Democratic National Committee's powerful Rules & Bylaws panel has to be ratified by the full DNC. Driving the news: The debate exposed divisions across race, ideology and region, pitting Black Democrats against Latino Democrats, progressives…